Recommend a KVM or Switch

zamithal@lemmy.blahaj.zone to Selfhosted@lemmy.world – 48 points –

Hello all, I'm looking for a switch/kvm for my home setup. ive been through a few tries and none of them have worked for one reason or another.

I have two machines,

A windows 11 work laptop

  • USB-C out, both USB and display port.
  • HDMI out
  • USB 2.0 out

A Ubuntu based personal server

  • Displayport out

  • USB-C out (no Displayport)

For displays, I have a single double wide 4k monitor

Additionally I have a USB-C hub all my peripherals are connected to.

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I wanted something similar from a remote company I was working for. They were pretty good about fulfilling requests, but when I asked for a good kvm switch they said they had trouble in the past and instead recommended a usb hub that can toggle between machines. Then connect both machines to the same monitor and toggle the input. Not ideal, but low cost and functional. Might not suit your needs (would be annoying if you have to frequently toggle back and forth), but if you're just trying to share your desk space between a work machine and personal, and the monitor input is easy to toggle, it's worth considering.

That is what I do. I have owned like 4 kvm switches. Even when I paid extra to get a "good" one they never lasted more than like a year or two. My USB switch has been going for about 3 years. Occasionally it glitches out and I have to unplug it from everything but it's only about every 3-5 months